I met Mr Wexler a couple of times, but didn't ask anything technical of him. HW also notes that the standby painter was kept busy "touching down" any color on the set considered too vivid for the strategy. "Bound For Glory", in my opinion, richly deserves the plaudits it has earned.
HW was, and is, a great stylist, and a fervent supporter of mixing soft light and hard light, to taste. In my experience, going "all soft" or "all hard" is . . . well, an exercise in futility, and . . . an exercise.
I don't think there are any generic solutions for visual problems. Me? I use my eyes.